A Love Reminiscence
by Meta Bunny
Summary: The Underworld King let love into his heart, and in the end it hurt him more than anything else.


Mard Geer was surprised when he saw her, or at least when he saw her around the broken remains of Tartaros. Mard Geer understood why he was here, he was the last surviving member of Tartaros, when Lord Zeref appeared and then disappeared with Lord E.N.D.'s tome in his hands, he kept the humans that defeated Mard Geer distracted. Mard Geer ran away when he had the chance, and as even the humans eventually gave up searching for Mard Geer and left, Mard Geer continued to remain. It almost made the Underworld King laugh at the sheer irony of it, that the great demon of Tartaros who would scold others for becoming controlled by their emotions would find himself not hunting down the humans or returning to his old operations of trying to find Lord Zeref and end his life. But that didn't happen, Mard Geer lost the Dark Guild that he had been controlling for over two whole centuries and he lost the tome of Lord E.N.D. that he swore an oath to protect until the greatest of all of Zeref's demons was resurrected and freed from his imprisonment of paper and leather.

Mard Geer had lost everything. Almost everything; he was still immortal, and he still had his curses. Even if Alegria was no longer applicable, Mard Geer still had his Thorn Curse and Memento Mori. And the last Curse was what was most important.

But Mard Geer found himself consumed by a sullen depression, lying around all that remained of Tartaros in gloom for seemingly the rest of his existence. And then he heard it, a footstep in the distance, a familiar aura of magic. Mard Geer felt a bitter taste in his mouth as she entered, the same blonde that summoned the Celestial Spirit King and led to Tartaros' downfall. If Mard Geer was the way he was only a few days ago, he would have impaled her with a powerful vine of thorns at least five times the instant he saw her form walk through the broken door. However Mard Geer is currently too despondent to gain the desire to kill, even if it was to calm his built-up anger with revenge.

Although Mard Geer was at a vantage point; rays of light shined through the cracks of the ceiling, keeping the blonde human in view. Mard Geer, however, remained in the shadows, obscured by the darkness. Mard Geer smirked, she was in the presence of one of the strongest demons in the entire world and she was absolutely oblivious to it. The blonde Celestial Spirt mage abruptly turned her head towards Mard Geer, a sense of fear and realization in her flawless brown eyes. Of course she would notice eventually, even amongst the immensely powerful demons of Tartaros, Mard Geer had a presence that felt unnatural and an immense amount of power that felt even more unnatural. Perhaps there are drawbacks to being immensely powerful.

The shock and fear disappeared in the woman's eyes, being replaced by bravery and determination. Colour Mard Geer impressed, even the great Titania of her guild was terrified by Mard Geer as he came to kill her and that traitorous Minerva. The blonde swiftly pulled out a gold key, a glimmer reflecting off the pin as a ray of sunlight that snuck through a hole in the ceiling shined on it. "Who are you?" She asked, her question laced with anger, keeping her magical object pointed at Mard Geer, even though she couldn't really see him. "Are you a demon? Show yourself!"

Mard Geer sighed, though an amused chuckle found itself in the release of air. Mard Geer walked out of their small space, appearing in the light and becoming visible to the human. Mard Geer couldn't help but feel amused as he saw the bravery and determination flare out of her eyes before returning with the same intensity as before. The woman gripped her golden tool, magic emitting from the key as she was preparing to summon whatever Celestial Spirit it belonged to. It didn't matter to Mard Geer, he was already stronger than the king of the Celestial Spirits and their world - the apex of their species - none of the magical entities that she could summon would even be a relative problem to Mard Geer. The woman kept still in her position, almost like she had became frozen. Mard Geer awaited for her next action, if there would ever be one, however for an unknown time that could be called minutes at the least she still didn't move. The one and only movement that she would exhibit is the blinking of her eyes.

Eventually, to Mard Geer's perplexing dismay, the fire in her eyes extinguished. Her arm hanged limply at her side, her key still gripped in her hand. Her head then proceeded to hang from her where it was, looking down at the ground as her head made small nodding movements. Mard Geer had at first raised an eyebrow, but smirked shortly thereafter. "Mard Geer is in a rare feeling of not killing humans." Mard Geer said to the woman, her head rising as the Underworld King spoke. "Go run back to your guild, neither you nor your spirits possess the power to defeat Mard Geer, nevertheless kill him. Maybe another one of those humans at your guild of light, one of those that are far stronger than you, could end Mard Geer if what you desire is vengeance for the sacrifice of one of your spirits."

The blonde woman stood up straight, nigh-unimaginable amounts of both sadness and anger in her eyes as her body trembled. Mard Geer suddenly felt his heartbeat rise, was he expecting her to succumb to her emotions like most humans do and attack him out of anger?

Instead, the human girl's head turned back towards the floor muttering something incoherently under her breath. Mard Geer felt confused, even with his enhanced hearing her words were barely even a whisper to him, what words died in her throat. "Speak up, human. It is bad-mannered to walk into someone else's territory and mutter at them. Repeat what you said to Mard Geer and speak louder...!" The Underworld King demanded, glaring at the intruding swine. She repeated her words, barely louder than when she first spoke, refusing to look at the Etherious in front of her. Mard Geer gritted his teeth in anger, the demon activating and using his Thorn Curse. Thorny vines came out of the walls that surrounded Mard Geer and the blonde human, shooting towards the latter and stopping as they were just grazing her body. Mard Geer knew how beings that were controlled by their emotions - like humans - behaved, and if they were scared and threatened then they would do anything you say. However the human woman didn't so much as flinch, but Mard Geer pursued with his threat nevertheless. "Speak to Mard Geer again and speak to him loudly and clearly, unless if you want to return to your guild in one piece and with your life."

The blonde abruptly rose her head, glaring at Mard Geer with eyes that held the intensity of a wildfire. Mard Geer was actually surprised and frankly even scared by the glare for a mere second or two, the thorns surrounding the woman receding back into the walls that they came from with the speed of a racing bullet. "I won't return to my guild. I _can't_ return to my guild." The woman said, stomping towards Mard Geer, though the great demon of Tartaros stood his ground, even as her angry form was barely even a finger nail away from Mard Geer. "It is because of _you_ and your build that Fairy Tail no longer exists. Because one of your demons controlled one of our family and blew up the guild, Master disbanded the guild and everyone has left."

Mard Geer looked at the blonde, surprised at her lack of fear yet feeling triumphant that Tartaros had nevertheless succeeded in getting rid of Fairy Tail. The blonde turned away, leaving the room and presumably leaving Tartaros, leaving Mard Geer on his ownsome. Mard Geer walked back into his private spot where no light was found, lying down on the ground and the small pieces of rubble that littered it. The Underworld King found his mind heading towards that Celestial Spirit mage. They are both now two beings left without the guild that they held dear to themselves from that war. Though they were on the opposite sides of each other through that war, and they were from two different words; Mard Geer is a mighty and powerful demon, she is a weak and feeble human. Comparing her to Mard Geer is an absolute insult to the demon's name!

Still though, Mard Geer has been plagued with a feeling of no longer having a purpose. And immortal until Zeref dies, Mard Geer has an eternity to waste. If this human has intrigued him, then Mard Geer may follow this human and see if she is worth his interest. Mard Geer rose from the ground and walked out of the room that he isolated himself to ever since Tartaros' demise. The Underworld King closed his eyes and focussed on any and all magical power that was nearby. A smirk formed on Mard Geer's face, he sensed the blonde's magic; she was still in the ruins of Tartaros.

Mard Geer instantly made swift movements, comparable to leaps, as he followed the magic power that he recognised as the female's. In no time, the blonde woman was once again in Mard Geer's sight, amusement welling up within the powerful demon as the female made no effort to hide or mask her confusion, her obvious signs of being lost and not knowing where to go. Mard Geer stood and watched from the doorway that he entered through, he could feel the smile rise on his face. The blonde stilled before turning around and looking at Mard Geer, a sixth sense alerting her that she was being watched by Mard Geer. The blonde woman glared at Mard Geer before looking at two different doorways and entering one of them.

Mard Geer entered the doorway as the female disappeared into it, walking with leisure as he could still sense her magic power, the Celestial Spirit summoner walking at a slow pace. Mard Geer saw light shine from the doorway's end, the demon continuing to walk through until he was at the doorway's end. The doorway didn't lead to a room, but rather it had instead led to what looked like an outside area. For one there was no floor, the annoying chirps of birds could be heard, and the only parts of Cube that remained her broken pieces among the grass.

And in the distance the blonde walked, facing away from Mard Geer and the corpse of Cube. Mard Geer doesn't know what otherworldly force had affected him, but the Underworld King found himself following the female as she walked to the town in the distance. Mard Geer blended in with the crowd of humans, that is if he hid his unnatural and tremendous power, that he did. The woman couldn't recognise Mard Geer whenever she looked back in an attempt to see him, to check if he was following her, and the other humans were completely unaware that Mard Geer was not only a demon, but an incredibly powerful demon that once led what was one of the strongest Dark Guilds in the world, if not one of the strongest Dark Guilds in existence. To those oblivious humans, Mard Geer was another one of them.

Mard Geer watched the blonde female as she stopped in front of a house and pulled out a key, one that definitely was a Celestial Spirit key, before shoving it into the keyhole. Mard Geer's enhanced hearing picked up the sound of a click from the door, even with all the incomprehensible words that the humans surrounding him spoke - their words becoming even harder to understand as they all layered over each other. The blonde female opened the door and closed it behind her, Mard Geer can smell her scent filling the entire house from where he was. It was easy for Mard Geer to infer that the house belonged to the former Fairy Tail mage, a smile growing on his face.

Maybe there will be something after Tartaros after all.

* * *

Mard Geer had snuck into the woman's house after she disappeared to an unknown area, the powerful demon managing to sneak in through a window. Her home seemed simple on both the outside and inside, Mard Geer was unimpressed by the hovel that she resided herself to, though on the same hand Mard Geer wasn't looking to become impressed. Mard Geer huffed in boredom as he found himself without anything to do, throughout his existence as Tartaros' leader he was too busy planning many ways to release Lord E.N.D. and keeping human scum out of his way that the emotions of boredom didn't apply to him, like how most emotions didn't apply to Mard Geer as he erased them from his being.

Mard Geer sat down on the blonde female's bed, wondering how long he would have to wait for her to arrive. Or, in other words, return, as she is the owner of the house. Mard Geer picked up the sound of a lock clicking downstairs, followed by the squeak of a door opening. Mard Geer smiled as he sensed her magic power to confirm that it was her, the magic power coming closer as she walked up her stairs to her room, unaware that Mard Geer was here and waiting for her. She came through the door, looking both sad and disgruntled.

The blonde looked up, her eyes landing on Mard Geer. The Celestial Spirit mage's eyes widened as she looked at Mard Geer, nonplussed to find the Underworld King sitting on her bed. As the human weakling was beginning to comprehend the sight before her, a fire of anger appearing in her eyes again. "What are you doing here?" She asked, holding an odd-looking whip in one hand and one of her Zodiac Celestial Spirit keys in the other. Even though such human arrogance to believe they could defeat Mard Geer (though Silver's spawn managed to do so after inheriting his Devil Slayer Magic) would usually anger Mard Geer and cause them to receive a death penalty from the Underworld King himself, Mard Geer found himself chuckling at her presumed belief that she could actually threaten the Definitive Demon. "Answer me or else!"

"You pose no threat to Mard Geer, human." Mard Geer said to the female, standing up but not at all removing his smirk. "You need to think of a better tactic if you wish to ever gain information from Mard Geer."

The woman stood still, continuing to hold her odd whip and spirit key out. "My name isn't human. It's Lucy." The woman, Lucy, told Mard Geer. Lucy swung her weird-looking whip at Mard Geer, the Underworld King smirking as he caught it effortlessly. Lucy stared at Mard Geer in surprise as he effortlessly grabbed hold of her whip. If Mard Geer could recall correctly, Lucy had used this same whip on Jackal when Mard Geer ordered the rest of Tartaros to kill her when she escaped from Alegria (somehow), before the nature of Jackal's curse caused it to explode. Lucy let go of her whip, causing it to fall to the ground and look like a regular whip, Mard Geer let go of the strip of leather, no longer having even the slightest interest in it. Lucy then swiftly faced the key in her hand towards Mard Geer. "Open, Gate of the Lion, Leo!"

An orange-haired man in a dark suit with blue-tinted sunglasses appeared in a glow of light, his hands in his pockets and a nonchalant expression of his face. "How are you feelin', my lady of love?" The man, the Celestial Spirit of the Zodiac constellation Leo, asked Lucy, giving her a flirtatious look. Leo suddenly noticed Mard Geer, his eyes widening as he realised that the man in front of him is the Underworld King and former leader of the now gone Tartaros. Leo moved a protective arm in front of Lucy, his hands shining brightly. "Stand back, Lucy, this guy is really dangerous."

Mard Geer made tutting sounds as he shook his head from side to side slowly, keeping his smirk as he stopped and looked at Leo and Lucy. "Mard Geer distinctly remembers you and another spirit being effortlessly defeated by Jackal. Mard Geer is a far stronger demon that Jackal, you hold no chance against him." Mard Geer said, not moving as the Celestial Spirit threatened to attack him with his magic. Even if Leo could manage to land a hit on Mard Geer, it would do very little damage. And that's not considering that Mard Geer would indubitably heal from the attack right away. "Mard Geer can destroy you in the blink of an eye. There is a myriad of ways that Mard Geer can bring you to your end, in fact. You trying to threaten Mard Geer is akin to an ant trying to threaten a cat. I think it is clear to even you which one is the ant and which one is the cat."

Leo barred his canines at Mard Geer, just like a real lion, going into a battle stance and his hands becoming covered in pure light. Mard Geer let out an annoyed sigh as he raised a hand in front of Leo before turning it slightly, small thorny vines appearing from the walls, floor and ceiling of Lucy's room and wrapping around the Celestial Spirit's body, leaving him completely unable to move. Of course Leo had tried to fight against the thorns, tried to move his body, but to no success.

"Run, Lucy!" Leo yelled as he struggled against Mard Geer's thorns, realising that he is left incapacitated by the thorns that wrapped and hugged at his body. Mard Geer huffed at the spirit and her summoner, even more tiny thorns appearing inside the harlot's house and blocking off her door and windows, leaving her trapped inside regardless of what she does.

"Your presence is unwanted and unneeded in Mard Geer's talk with your tamer, Leo. Mard Geer will just have to removed you from this room." Mard Geer said to the lion cub, the Underworld King summoning more thorns, this time to penetrate through Leo's body, the constellation embodiment screaming in pain before his body disappeared in a ray of light. Lucy was left shocked by Mard Geer's action, the demon indifferent to her scared eyes, immediately reaching for another key, however she was left paused as she saw the serious stare that Mard Geer gave her. "Don't. It doesn't matter how strong your spirits are, nor does it matter what they are capable of, they are inferior to the thorns that pierce through the netherworld. Dare try to summon another interdimensional slave and Mard Geer will just vanquish them before they have even the chance to be of any service."

Lucy stayed in her still state, her hand eventually moving away from the magical keys. "Why have you came here?" Lucy asked, her body making slight trembles, even though she was trying to stay brave. "Did you come here to kill me?"

Mard Geer laughed at the blonde's question, actually having to temporarily sit back down as he lost power in his legs before getting back up. In the blink of an eye, Mard Geer was in front of Lucy, cupping her chin in the fingers of one of his hands, his smile becoming dark. "The thorns inside this room are already enough of a reason that Mard Geer could easily kill you if he wants to, do you wish for him to tell you more reasons that he could send you through the gate of the underworld?" Mard Geer said to Lucy, the blonde remaining quiet even after he spoke. Mard Geer removed his fingers from around Lucy's chin, pleased that she has shown that even a insect like her could understand the differences between her power and Mard Geer's power, moving to one of her chairs and sitting down on it, leaning his elbow on the table next to it and leaning his head down on the wrist connected to the elbow. "Mard Geer would have killed you back at the ruins of his garden. Mard Geer is only here to converse."

"Oh, so you just did all of that because you wanted to talk, huh?" Lucy asked sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at Mard Geer grumpily. The Underworld King must admit that he found it amusing that she could changed her emotions from being scared to being sarcastic of the superior being that vastly has the upper hand. It was much like that pink-haired dragon spawn that she shared her now non-existent guild with; capable of changing their emotional state in an instant, except that dragon spawn is vermin in its purest form. "You know, you could have just said hello without all of the thorns."

"That is exactly what Mard Geer did, summoner of the stars." Mard Geer retorted, the grin on his face stretching further and he saw the realisation on Lucy's face. "Mard Geer only used his thorns because you forced him to by summoning the Celestial Spirt Leo. If you didn't automatically try to attack Mard Geer, your room wouldn't have became a garden of thorns."

"Well now that we both know you're just here to talk and you intend on inflicting revenge, do you think you could make the thorns, y'know, disappear?" Lucy asked, her arms remaining in their position over her chest, the fires of her anger becoming a small flame that could fit perfectly on a small candle. Despite his unwillingness, Mard Geer complied to Lucy's demands, the thorns that crawled along the interior of Lucy's bedroom retreating to their places of origin and vanishing from existence. However, on thorns that appeared from a wall had grabbed one of the chairs that was tucked into the table and untucked it before retreating out of existence. Mard Geer gestured a hand to the chair as he looked at Lucy, the blonde easily guessing that he wanted her to sit there. There was an unwillingness in her brown orbs, either if it was simply that she detested Mard Geer or that she believed that the Underworld King would do something to her as soon as she had her guard down was a mystery to Mard Geer. But Lucy still did as told, sitting down on the chair opposite side of the table to Mard Geer, though she still didn't look that happy to so near Mard Geer. "So what is it that you want to talk about?"

"With everything that he has worked so hard to gain in over the last three centuries, including the very soul of Lord E.N.D., taken away from him within only a day, Mard Geer has felt like he is left only with a meaningless existence. Mard Geer even believes that Lord Zeref may have removed his instinct to kill him, as Mard Geer can no longer feel the desire that fuelled him throughout the years. In other words, Mard Geer feels lost. You are quite similar in that regard, one may even call you and I one and the same after the destruction of both our guilds; both finding ourselves lost in the abyss of nothingness, because we are both left with purely nothing. That is why Mard Geer came here to meet you, because he knows that you are the only one that understands this emptiness. Mard Geer wishes for you to entertain him as he has nothing but an eternity to waste." Mard Geer explained to Lucy, the blonde with wide eyes as she processed Mard Geer's admittedly lengthy explanation.

Lucy's face returned into a scowl as she reached her own meaning for Mard Geer's words. "So you just want to talk to be because you're bored and have nothing else to do?" Lucy said icily.

"Yes, Mard Geer guesses that may be the truth." Mard Geer responded with a nonchalant shrug. "To be earnest with you, Mard Geer doesn't know what it was that possessed or persuaded him to wish to talk to you, but Mard Geer has now entered you're domain. And as you can clearly see, we are conversing like Mard Geer wished."

Lucy exhaled in annoyance, leaning her head on a hand. "Well then... what exactly do we... talk about now?"

Mard Geer looked at Lucy, his shrug disappearing, a smile growing on his face. "What do you wish to talk about?"

* * *

It had been weeks since Lucy inexplicably visited the broken rubble of Mard Geer's castle; Cube. And it had been weeks since the Underworld King came to the blonde's home, and weeks since their conversations had turned into a regular occurrence. The Underworld King would have never predicted nor believed that he would gain an interest in talking with a human, or that he would enjoy a human in general. Not even Mard Geer himself could tell when, but eventually there came a time where Mard Geer started spending time in the ruins of Tartaros, seemingly moving into Lucy's apartment with the blonde.

Lucy herself had seemingly grown an attachment towards Mard Geer; not only did she not raise a single complaint when she and Mard Geer found the powerful demon to be seemingly living at her home, but she stopped giving Mard Geer that stare of hatred; a grudge against him for everything that he took away from her. Her eyes reflected a different emotion towards Mard Geer, similar to one that Kyôka would give towards Seilah, a certain light behind it; much like the fire she had in them when angry but without the rage. Even though Lucy's Celestial Spirits had disliked Mard Geer at best, there was no void that would develop between them and her. Even though Mard Geer's opinion of the Celestial Spirits was mutual towards their feelings for him, he was happy that he didn't cause Lucy to drift apart from her Celestial Spirits like a floatation device from the ground; Mard Geer knew that Lucy cared for her spirits with all of her heart, that if she were to lose any more of them then she would be devastated, and Mard Geer cared far too much for Lucy to let something or someone devastate her, especially if it was the Underworld King himself.

Mard Geer also knew that if he was 'staying' with Lucy then he would have to mingle with other humans, a concept that the Underworld King had quite frankly never liked. And even to this day, as he now walked among crowds of those insects on a daily basis, the concept continued to have no appeal towards Mard Geer. But being surrounded by those inconsequential beings had felt worth it for this new bond he formed with Lucy. Mard Geer could guess that Lucy was now his 'friend', even though he chose to never have one, even among the other demons of Tartaros, as Mard Geer had always saw a comrade as nothing of merit that would always hold you down from your endeavours.

Nevertheless Mard Geer still saw Lucy as his friend, despite his philosophy that a friend is needless.

Mard Geer had accompanied Lucy to the top of a hill, the Celestial Spirit mage watching the sun as it was turning orange and disappearing from beyond the horizon. "Mard Geer." Lucy said, looking up at the demon as she was sitting down while Mard Geer was standing up. The former master of Tartaros looked down at Lucy, a smile forming on his face as he saw a small smile on Lucy's face.

"Yes, Lucy?" Mard Geer responded.

"I'm... happy that I met you when I went looking through the remains of Tartaros." Lucy responded, her brown eyes reflecting the earnest sincerity in her voice. Mard Geer knew that the Celestial Spirit mage's words were far from a lying farce. "If I hadn't met you... if I hadn't became friends with you... I don't know where I would be right now."

Mard Geer felt touched by Lucy's words, plucking at his heartstrings like the most talented, most gentle player of harps. Though the Underworld King knew that he is floating in the same proverbial boat as the human sitting in front of him. "Mard Geer concurs with you, Lucy; if you never came to the corpse of Cube, Mard Geer would have stayed in his secluded space of darkness, waiting for himself to waste away and become a meal for the maggots." Mard Geer as he bent his knees to descend downward towards Lucy, pressing his forehead against his own. Mard Geer moved his head back, his eyes windows to a question that has been sitting in his head ever since Lucy's appearance those few weeks ago. "Though Mard Geer wishes to know the answer to this question. Why did you come to the shambles of Cube in the first place?"

"I had a dream that I was walking through Cube, that I was walking through the destroyed building inexplicably." Lucy answered, looking at the last orange rays of light as they vanished onto the other side of the world. The sky turned dark, illuminating with millions and millions of stars that were immeasurable lengths away in the vast cosmos, looking like a god-like deity has sprinkled glitter onto the sky. On the other side of the horizon, the moon rose into the air, the spherical satellite shining a beautiful luminescent glow onto the sleeping world. "I came to Cube in hopes of understanding that dream, to see if it was a premonition. I guess it was a premonition, because we may have never became friends if I didn't explore what remained of Tartaros. I never expected you to still be there. I thought that Natsu and Gray, or maybe even Zeref, had killed you."

Mard Geer sat down next to Lucy. Underneath the moon's light and the microscopic dots of stars behind her, Lucy looked like a talented artist's magnum opus; a sight that could only be seen in once in a lifetime, even with Mard Geer's immortality and long life. It was still a mystery what exactly happened next, if Mard Geer's body moved on its own or he was controlled by a higher power, but like regular causality it was a cause that led to an effect. Mard Geer closed his eyes for only a second's fraction, purely for the need of blinking, but when the Underworld King had opened his eyes, his lips were pressed against Lucy's. And the Celestial Spirit mage was as confused as Mard Geer himself.

Mard Geer hastily removed his lips from Lucy's, the two fleshy parts feeling a certain unknown heat from inside. "Lucy! Mard Geer... I'm sorry!" Mard Geer stammered, his heart beating at high rates as he was trying to understand the action. Even in his lapses in control, Mard Geer has never done an impulse like that. Mard Geer's body shook, one of the rare instances where he didn't know what to do. Lucy blinked as she too was trying to comprehend what happened, looking at Mard Geer with confused eyes. "I didn't know what happened. I don't know what overcame me. I'm sorry, I should lea-"

Lucy suddenly grabbed hold of Mard Geer's jacket and pulled him close to her, kissing the Underworld King on the lips. Mard Geer couldn't move under the sudden kiss, but he soon regained his control his body, however the demon had kissed back. Mard Geer picked Lucy up, his muscles growing and his body changing as he transformed into his original, stronger form. Kissing each other had became a little awkward for Mard Geer and Lucy as the former grew jagged teeth, but they continued to do so anyways in their growing mixture of lust and love. Mard Geer's wings flapped, taking him and the human woman in his arms flying into the air. Under the guise of the night's darkness, Mard Geer and Lucy were able to fly back to Magnolia and Lucy's house on Strawberry Street undetected. Mard Geer changed back into his weaker, human form as Lucy fumbled with her keys to open the door. The human and demon shut and locked the door behind them as they entered. Mard Geer picked Lucy up again and ran to the bedroom, pining Lucy down on her bed. Mard Geer could see his face reflected in Lucy's eyes, his own becoming red and slit.

The night disappeared in a haze, the next thing that Mard Geer could remember was waking up in Lucy's bed, exhausted despite having just awoke from sleeping. Mard Geer then realised that he was naked, and that his arms were wrapped around an equally naked Lucy.

Mard Geer froze, questioning what had happened. Even after figuring out what happened, the Underworld King remained frozen. Like wild animals, demons are capable of having mates. Mard Geer didn't believe that he would have ever had a mate, he never saw the point in love and was more focussed on his ambition to end Lord Zeref's life, which would subsequently end Mard Geer's own. But as Mard Geer layed in Lucy's bed, the blonde sleeping soundly atop him, both without anything whatsoever to stop their bare skin from touching, Mard Geer had came to realise that Lucy was his mate.

And Mard Geer found himself to be happy of the fact, tears of joy silently crawling out of the edges of his eyes.

* * *

"I'm your _what_?!" Lucy shrieked out in surprise after Mard Geer informed her that she was now his demon's mate.

"You are Mard Geer's demon mate." Mard Geer explained again. Mard Geer and Lucy were both fully dressed and sitting at a table, a plate of bacon, eggs, toast and sausages was in front of Lucy while Mard Geer had no food nor even a plate in front of him. Unlike most beings, demons - specifically the Etherious - don't need food to sustain themselves, food was only ever a means for demons to keep themselves entertained and avoid boredom. Mard Geer had of course never once had an interest in eating anything, had has continued to lack that interest. "Simply put, you are the one that Mard Geer loves and the only one that he loves."

Lucy was left still for a few seconds before abruptly standing up. "Fuck!" Lucy swore at the top of her lungs, a never seen before action that caused Mard Geer to become nonplussed. Lucy walked around her room as she tried to make sense of what happened, the blonde grabbing hold of her hair of golden string and letting out a frustrated groan as she pulled at it. Mard Geer watched, the Definitive Demon not knowing if he could help or not, or if him trying to help Lucy would actually do its purpose.

Lucy plopped herself down onto her bed, on her front side. Lucy's moans and groans were muffled by her bedsheets. Mard Geer sat down next to Lucy, the Celestial Spirit mage showing no signs or indications of awareness that the demon sat next to her. Mard Geer sucked the air in through his teeth, raising a hand above Lucy's back. Mard Geer's hand began to shake, the demon not knowing whenever to act or not. Mard Geer slowly descended his hand onto Lucy's back, the woman's body flinching, even as her face remained on the bed.

Mard Geer looked at Lucy in horror; only a few minutes ago they were so intimately close to each other, but now she just flinched from contact with him, even with a shirt between her body and his hand.

It suddenly felt like hot needles were being stabbed into Mard Geer's heart, he needed to get out of the house. Lucy hand shot out and grabbed hold of Mard Geer's wrist as the demon got off her bed, the grand demon of thorns looking down to Lucy's pleading eyes. "Don't go." Lucy said, rushing onto her feet and wrapping her arms around Mard Geer, pushing her face into his chest.

Mard Geer stared down at the blonde in confused surprise, these emotions brought by Lucy's sudden mood swing. "Are... are you okay, Lucy?" Mard Geer asked. Lucy wasn't crying, he didn't hear the sound from her - and Mard Geer had some of the most excellent hearing - and he didn't feel any dampness where Lucy's head was.

"I... I don't know." Lucy responded, letting of Mard Geer and looking away from him, her eyes now looking at the window and everything on the other side of it. Lucy let out a long, low sigh, turning around towards Mard Geer, her face painted with frustrated confusion. "I don't know... I don't know how I feel about all of this. On one hand... I feel kind of... happy to be the one you are in love with. I... I even feel this... weird warmth in my heart. But... it is all just so terrifying. I'm the mate of a demon! I didn't even know that demons _could_ have mates! And you're not just any demon, you're... you're one of the most ancient most powerful demons on the entire planet. It's virtually impossible to not become overwhelmed by information like this!"

Lucy sat down on her bed, her right elbow resting on her knee as her temple rested on her palm, looking down at the floor. Mard Geer sighed. Of course when he felt joy that it was Lucy that was his mate he didn't consider that someone who is more in tune with their emotions would feel overwhelmed by their differences. It was utterly inconsiderate for Mard Geer to not think those emotions. And it was utterly inconsiderate of him to not consider that he shouldn't have a human as a mate.

"Demons are not meant to be mated to humans." Mard Geer said. Lucy looked upwards at the Underworld King, the confusion in her eyes rapidly increasing. Mard Geer made a tentative sigh, knowing that he would be placed in this inevitability once his glimpse of euphoria was reaching its conclusion. As dubious as he was, Mard Geer continued to explain. "Creatures that mate for life with another should never do so with a creature of a different species. A demon mating a human is considered to be a disgusting taboo to other demons, much like how paedophilia is to humans."

"Is there any _more_ bad news that you have to drop on me?" Lucy asked. It was very clear that Lucy was mentally freaking out from the fact that she had a caused a taboo of another species, and thus Mard Geer didn't want Lucy to know of the final fact of being mated to him. However Lucy was quick to notice how tense Mard Geer became, the star summoner becoming more annoyed than anything. "Are you kidding me? There _is_ more bad news?! Freakin' demons."

While Mard Geer would have otherwise taken offense to the last statement, he decided that those emotions were completely unneeded. "Despite being Mard Geer's mate you won't gain immortality or any additional longevity. You're life-span has remained unaltered; you're still fated to expire by old age like any other human on this world."

"Well that is just fine and dandy." Lucy sighed sarcastically. "Who knew loving you could easily become such a downer? Who would even know that we would become friends and, as of last night, lovers?"

"Mard Geer has came to accept that you can sometimes make even the most improbable of happenings become a reality." Mard Geer said.

"It's almost like goddamn Murphy's Law." Lucy groaned, slamming her face down into her palms.

Mard Geer made a sad sigh of guilt. Guilt... that was another emotion that never graced Mard Geer's mind. Mard Geer walked towards Lucy, kneeling down in front of her. Lucy showed no signs of awareness of the Underworld King's presence, the aforementioned king (although as of late that seemed to be in title only) feeling immense discomfort that his mate was seemingly ignoring him. Mard Geer raised a shaky hand in front of Lucy, his fingers only a mere inch away from her own, and yet she still didn't show any signs that she knew he was so close to her. Mard Geer felt tentative, fearing that Lucy will once again flinch under his touch, that she will react like his skin will give her a stinging pain.

Mard Geer placed the fingers of one of his hands above Lucy's, peeling the hand off her face and then peeling the other hand off her face, genteelly cupping her hands in his own. Lucy looked up at Mard Geer, shades of red surrounding her sad, brown eyes, evidence that she had been crying silent tears. Mard Geer could feel an instinctive growl rise within him at the knowledge that his newfound mate was crying, the rage of a thousand suns were burning within Mard Geer and he wanted to go on a rampage. But a rampage is the last thing that they need, the last thing that _Lucy_ needs. Mard Geer has controlled his emotions perfectly for centuries, he will not let them make him do something that will only worsen the current issues he and his mate have found themselves in. Right now the Underworld King's top priority is to comfort his mate as she is indubitably in distress for this unprecedented predicament that he brought her into.

"Mard Geer promises you that he will protect and care for you. You are Mard Geer's mate, and if any other demon dares to hurt you because of the taboo we both committed then he will make them pay in torture and the eternal rest." Mard Geer said to Lucy, pressing his forehead against Lucy's, looking at the human straight in the eye. Lucy looked into Mard Geer's black eyes, absolutely soulless yet irresistibly lovely, captivated by the demon she is apparently mated to and wanting to kiss him all over. "You are Mard Geer's one and only, even the most expensive of golden treasures could never hold a candle compared to you in his eyes. Mard Geer is undeniably in love with you."

Lucy calmed into an embrace with Mard Geer, the demon and human laying on the Celestial Spirit mage's bed. They knew that them being mated together wouldn't be easy, especially with Mard Geer being an immortal while Lucy was still a mortal human. However they were both in love with each other, and they knew that they would do anything for each other. And that they would do anything to stay together.

* * *

Many years had passed since Mard Geer and Lucy had became mated; Lucy's guild eventually reformed and what happened when her guildmates found out about Mard Geer's relationship with her was nothing short of utter chaos. Lucy had eventually pacified her entire guild from killing Mard Geer, the fact that she was mated to him causing them to sheath their weapons. They had begrudgingly accepted Mard Geer into their guild, though it was only because he was their light's mate. They eventually came to accept Mard Geer as a 'friend', even the offspring of Silver came around after at least two whole decades, but their opinions on Mard Geer was beneath the consideration of the Definitive Demon; there were only two beings in the whole world that Mard Geer cared about: himself and his beautiful mate, Lucy.

The dragon spawn and pseudo dragons eventually managed to slay Acnologia, dethroning him from his position as ruler of an extinct, reptilian species. It almost humoured Mard Geer that the dragons were now all dead, the only continued existence of dragons being the humans who have been imbued with their magic. Mard Geer remembers the many centuries ago when dragons sat at the top of the food chain, even humans and demons were beneath them. Indeed, only the gods were superior to dragons.

Mard Geer has seen (and even tortured and killed) many species that have met their genocide and have been long forgotten and erased from history, but he would have never suspected that the mighty dragons of all entities would go extinct. At least without the actions of Lord E.N.D.

The old master of the guild died, taken away from the world of the living by none other than time itself. The guild was greatly heartbroken by Makarov's death, and Lucy was one of the members that cried the most and Mard Geer lent his mate a shoulder to lean on. Makarov's grandson, one of the fake dragons, had taken over the guild after his death, as written in the old man's will.

Life continued seemingly normally for Mard Geer and Lucy, outside of the demons of Galuna Island neither had came across any demons. Thankfully though those demons showed no opposition towards the taboo that Mard Geer and Lucy had caused by becoming mated, though it seemed that they were different demons to the ones that Mard Geer knew. And, judging by how close some of the demons seemed towards humans, they seemingly didn't care much for the taboo anyways.

Lucy's friends had found their own loved ones, and in the case of the spawn of the dragons and Silver they had found their mates. Lucy was happy for them, as she was already with Mard Geer. However, with time, the subconscious fear that Mard Geer had when he mated Lucy began to manifest into reality; the mortality of a human being.

After Mard Geer reached the point he was at, his body stopped ageing and his immortality protected him from dying of age. But Lucy didn't have that, and as the years began to pass she changed. Physically. Her skin began to wrinkle and her hair turned grey, her legs lost their strength and power and she could no longer walk. She now sat on a wheelchair and Mard Geer would push it to help move her around. And yet he loved her all the same.

Many of Lucy's friends passed away as she grew old, either because they too had grown old or because they died on a deadly mission. It was almost a surprise that Lucy was the last member of her old team to live, the sky dragon and the flying cats notwithstanding. Mard Geer was wheeling Lucy to a hill, the same hill where the Underworld King and the Celestial Spirit mage first found out that they were in love. As the demon and the woman that he was wheeling went up the hill, they were passed by two teenage women.

"Wow, look Beth, it's rare to see a guy who still takes care of their grandparents in this current age." One of the women said, shaking her friends arm to gain her attention and pointing at Mard Geer. Mard Geer and Lucy looked at the two teenagers, the former feeling angry that she dare to call his mate one of his grandparents. Lucy was Mard Geer's true love and he hated that so many humans though of her as being the mother of one of his non-existent parents. Besides, Mard Geer was already ancient when Lucy was first conceived, though it looked like it was the opposite way around judging by how old they both looked physically. The same teenager that talked to 'Beth' almost swooned as she looked at Mard Geer. "And he's so hot and handsome too."

"You're telling me, Kelly." Beth responded, batting her eyelids at Mard Geer. The great Thorn Curse demon felt disgust in his mouth at the two human, they were ultimately beneath his consideration and their obvious lust for him made him feel repulsed. "Hey, when you're done with your grandma, you can spend time with us."

"Mard Geer has no interest in neither of you two. You disgust him, get out of his face this instance." Mard Geer said, surprising the two female teens.

"B-But we can give you a good time." Kelly said, still trying to comprehend that Mard Geer didn't want to be with her. In fact the Underworld King wanted to be far away from this disgusting human. "Come on, Beth, can't we?"

"Y-yeah," Beth concurred, just as shocked as Kelly. "We are really good in the-."

"I said begone!" Mard Geer yelled, releasing some of his power. Kelly and Beth had stilled, frozen in fear as they felt Mard Geer's immense power overwhelm them like a crushing weight. But Mard Geer knew that it wasn't limited to just the immense weight of Mard Geer's power, but it was also because of the nature of Mard Geer's power. Even though Mard Geer began learning and training in magic to better suit his mate, his power was still primarily that of a Curse. They could feel that the immense energy was one that was purely evil and filled with negative emotions that would penetrate into a human's heart and leave them frozen. Kelly and Beth were both left whimpering in fear, their bodies making small twitches as they tried to run with paralyzed bodies. "Leave before Mard Geer shows you the wrath he is capable of."

Kelly and Beth ran away screaming, the sight was almost comical; like they were in some over the top play and saw a ghost.

Mard Geer looked back at Lucy, his enjoyment going away and being replaced by guilt as he saw the angry expression his mate was sending towards him. Mard Geer felt like a guilty dog under her stare, and if he was a more savage demon, like in his primal days, he would have even went on all fours and whimpered like a dog.

"Mard, even if they were rude it didn't change that you were also rude." Lucy said, seemingly already understanding Mard Geer's reason for why he got upset. That was a thing that Mard Geer liked, if not loved, about his mate; she had grown to understand the Underworld King enough to know the reasons behind the actions he does when he emotions take over.

"Mard Geer is deeply sorry, Lucy." Mard Geer apologised, going on his hands and knees and making a bow towards his mate. "Mard Geer just deeply despises it when those ignorant humans insults his mate, especially when it's concerning your age. Mard Geer has still not gained the ability to tolerate most humans, and he is sorry that he has inconvenienced you, my mate."

Lucy made a sigh, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples like she always did when she calmed herself down, though the speed of it was noticeably decelerated by her age. Mard Geer looked at his aged mate, even though her face has been greatly wrinkled and her hair has turned grey, she still looked absolutely beautiful towards Mard Geer. Lucy opened her eyes, smiling at Mard Geer and making his heart proverbially leap. "It's okay, Mard Geer, I forgive you." Lucy said, cupping Mard Geer's cheek in her hand and stroking it slightly.

Mard Geer smiled and was eventually once again wheeling Lucy back up the hill. They stopped as they reached the hill's top, Mard Geer put Lucy under the shade of a tree to protect her body from being burned by the sun's light. Mard Geer sat next to Lucy, the (formerly) blonde human watching the sun as it slowly crawled under the horizon's boundary. There was a nice silence that made the moment feel truly peaceful, the only sounds being quiet whispers of the breeze and the chirping song of birds that flew by. Mard Geer took a deep breath, taking in this moment even though he already a countless number of times. Mard Geer would have never done this while he was ruling over Tartaros, he would be focussed purely on reviving E.N.D. and killing Lord Zeref.

Tartaros was almost like a forgotten dream, though as he never really cared for any of the other demons of the guild, not even the Nine Demon Gates, he hadn't cared. Mard Geer had seemingly lost his desire, his instinct, to kill Lord Zeref when the aforementioned mage made an appearance after Tartaros' death. And now he was truly free and found his mate. For the first time in his existence, Mard Geer had learned to truly appreciate life.

"Mard Geer?" Lucy said, the old woman that the Underworld King was proud to call his true love keeping her eyes on the setting sun.

"Yes, Lucy?" Mard Geer asked.

"Do I... still look beautiful to you?" Lucy asked Mard Geer as she turned her head to look at him, a great uncertainty in her voice, same uncertainty shown on her wrinkled face. Mard Geer was surprised that Lucy would question her beauty, the old lady beginning to look nervous before looking away. "It's just that... I'm growing old and those two women mistook me for your grandmother. Do you think... that I'm no longer beautiful? You are allowed to be honest, even if it hurts."

Lucy looked back at Mard Geer, the Demonic King of Thorns examining the aged woman's features. The wrinkled woman rapidly aged backwards until she was the same teenager he met and fell in love with long ago. Mard Geer could see the past Lucy and present Lucy side by side. And he saw that she was still just as beautiful. Mard Geer felt his heart warm up as he looked at Lucy, she was not only the light of her guild (or former guild as she was officially too old to go on missions anymore) but she was the light of Mard Geer. The Underworld King knew that no matter how old she gets, he will always love her.

"You are still the most beautiful sight Mard Geer has ever laid his eyes on." Mard Geer said softly to Lucy, cupping her cheek in his hand like she did with him earlier. "Mard Geer is still happy to have met you, and as much as he regrets ordering Tartaros to kill you, he feels grateful that you summoned the Celestial Spirit King and helped your friends stop Mard Geer."

Tears of joy rose in Lucy's eyes as she started smiling, the tears running down her aging face. "I love you, Mard." Lucy said as those tears continued to fall.

"And I love you too." Mard Geer said before he and Lucy kissed, the demon and human eventually watching the sun set together.

* * *

Thunder crackled above as the sky made a downpour over Mard Geer, the rain mixing in with the demon's tears to the point where not even he could distinguish between them. But that didn't even matter to Mard Geer, nothing else mattered to the Underworld King. For the longest time in decades, Mard Geer's heart felt dark and cold.

In front of Mard Geer sat a new tombstone; Lucy's tombstone. It was both a surprise without a warning and something that was to be expected, Lucy's passing into the afterlife. Mard Geer had woke up and prepared Lucy's breakfast and got her wheelchair and was ready to help his aging mate get on her portable chair, but when he tried to wake her up she wouldn't even make a movement. And when Mard Geer checked for her pulse, he found none. It was to his fear that he took Lucy to the hospital in hopes that there still was a chance to live for her, but the doctors confirmed that she was long dead before Mard Geer woke up.

It did come off as a more dignified death in Mard Geer's eyes, passing away silently in one's sleep because of natural causes such as one's age.

Lucy was buried near her friends, her tombstone placed next to theirs as the final grave of the team that was once the legendary Team Natsu, now a true legend that all the members are dead. Lucy had lived a long life, two years past a century, though she utterly refused to be put in a care home. And through her long life she had brought forth the happiest years that Mard Geer had ever known.

And now the Underworld King as on his knees in front of her tombstone, weeping endlessly. It hurt, even if the death of a demon's mate doesn't automatically mean the death of the demon, especially an Etherious, it didn't mean that the death of the only being that he ever loved felt like countless knives, daggers and swords being stabbed into his heart.

Lucy was Mard Geer's first and only anchor to life, the only thing that made the Great Demon of Thorns enjoy and appreciate being alive and stopped taking it for granted. Lucy and Mard Geer may have possibly created at least a second anchor for the Underworld King's attachment to being alive, if they were able to have a child. They did try, they tried many times, but it always failed. It was truly Mard Geer's fault. Their were many times that he was able to impregnate Lucy like they both desired but their vast differences in species would cause the baby to die before it would have even a chance to be alive. Lucy was a human and Mard Geer was a demon, the two would both contribute to the two aspects of their baby, a human and demon aspect respectively.

But that was where the true problem of their babies not even being stillborn resided. And it was why Mard Geer continued to blame himself.

The demon aspect, as a part of not only and demon but also an Etherious, would kill the human aspect of it self as it would start to form the baby. And without the other aspect, the other piece required for any of their potential children, the demon aspect would die. This happened during every last attempt. Mard Geer blamed himself that Lucy couldn't have a baby because the part of it that was him would kill the part of the baby that was Lucy, and then die out with its incomplete energy.

Lucy would always comfort Mard Geer, telling him that she would never really blame him for the deaths of their potential spawn. And she would always tell him with earnest truth; it always helped cheer him up.

But there was no possible way that she could comfort him now, no way that she can make him feel better now, no way that she can get rid of this sensation of his heart decomposing while an innumerable amount of maggots feasted on it like some ultimate buffet. Lucy Heartfilia, the one and only human (the one and only being) in existence that Mard Geer had ever cared for, was indefinitely dead. While few of Lucy's friends were still alive they still came to her funeral, and the children of Lucy's friends, dead and alive alike had also came. But even though everyone else had left, Mard Geer continued to mourn.

Mard Geer now understood why Zeref created him with his purpose, why he created all of the Etherious with the instinct to kill his immortal self; immortality was nothing more than a wicked curse created by a malevolent creator. To live forever in a world where most being live for only one time and then are gone forever when they meet oblivion.

To never end while everything and everyone you would ever care for would cease and be gone forever, and you had the most miniscule of chances or possibilities to see them again. Mard Geer had never cared for anything before Lucy, and even then the Celestial Spirit mage was the only one that ever managed to matter towards him, so this pain never applied to him when he saw humans and animals alike die one way or another and rot into a carcass where only bone would remain. Never applied to him as entire civilizations were born and then gone. And then it took only one blonde human with a mortality that would end before the Definitive Demon could even comprehend.

Mard Geer started to now laugh while simultaneously cry as his heart felt like the pain of his loss was ripping it apart from both the inside and the outside. It was now comical to Mard Geer that so many humans had sought after immortality, that they were even willing to sacrifice the lives of others and do other rituals related to the Black Arts to gain the ability to live forever. It would sound amazing at first, but if those lowly, one century lifespan, arrogant beings were to truly think about it, if they lived forever while everything and everyone that they loved would still inevitably die, they would realise that they would be saying goodbye to those that gave the world of the living a meaning.

Unless they were a heartless sociopath, then everything and everyone else dying wouldn't matter in even the slightest to them.

Nevertheless, immortality was a fate that was far worse than death could ever be. Immortality outweighed death to the point where death would fly off the scales and into space.

Mard Geer felt a presence calmly approach him from behind. The Underworld King would have otherwise not cared in the slightest about a presence appearing behind him while mourning the death of his only loved one, but this presence was unlike that of most being in the world. It was a presence that Mard Geer had only ever felt once in his four centuries long existence, and it was making an old and lost instinct go crazy from inside the recesses of his brain. It was a presence of nothing more but pure death and darkness, one that made life itself disappear just from being near it. A presence that kills, even if the person behind the presence didn't want it to kill. In fact, the presence often killed the most when the person behind the presence didn't want it to kill.

A living cycle of contradictions that always resulted in death, in one way or another, because it was the curse of a god of death and magic that would be cruel to those that made it mad.

Mard Geer slowly ascended from his knees, not caring that the rain and their constant presence on the ground had caused his pants to be covered by wet mud. Nothing mattered anymore. Mard Geer wanted nothing more than death, even though he was immortal. And Mard Geer may have the power to end this endless nightmare of pain, for both himself and the one that made him with the darkest kind of magic imaginable.

The purple-haired demon turned around, elegant in his movements despite his current look being a great contradiction. "Hello, Lord Zeref." Mard Geer said calmly, an impassive expression with icy eyes on the demons face as he looked at his creator and former master. "Mard Geer would say that it is good to see you again after these many decades, but Lucy has detested lies so much that Mard Geer swore to never lie again. Though Mard Geer is admittedly surprised to see you alive again, with him no longer feeling his instinct he assumed that you somehow managed to remove the bond between you and him and turned Mard Geer into a truly free demon. And with every tale of your existence for the last few of these decades being only in the name of your cults, Mard Geer just thought that you released Lord E.N.D. and got killed like you wished, with Lord E.N.D. perishing afterwards like you intended. However you were only gone, it seems. And with this voice in his head that his chanting to him to kill you, Mard Geer can only presume that his existence on the living world is still tied to you."

Zeref stood calmly in front of Mard Geer with only a few feet of distance between him and the demon he created, a calm smile on his face, unconcerned about the rain. "It truly has been a long time, Mard Geer." Zeref said, his guise continuing to remain formal and dignified. Mard Geer had to almost fight against himself to keep his composure, not only because the instinct was now yelling at him from inside his head, yelling at him to murder Zeref with only a millisecond of patience before yelling again, but also because it felt like Zeref was disrespecting his dead mate by being so calm and happy. The Black Wizard hadn't yet even acknowledged Lucy's existence. "After your hard work, I was prepared to turn you back into a book and end your suffering by burning you, however at the last second I had decided to instead just remove you of your instinct and focus my attention on the only Etherious that ever mattered."

Mard Geer didn't complain nor feel offended that Zeref referred to Lord E.N.D. as being the only Etherious that ever mattered, as all other Etherious were merely prototypes of Lord E.N.D., hence why Mard Geer sought Face to release Lord E.N.D. so the Etherious could fulfil their purpose. "Mard Geer assumes that you have yet to release Lord E.N.D., seeing as you are still alive and well. Sadly."

Zeref's smile turned into a frown, one that showed a sense of sadness. "No. I was once going to release E.N.D., or at least awaken him as his body was running around this land while his mind and power slept in his tome. I decided to instead let the E.N.D.'s body and true self enjoy his life. That true self eventually died and the book that both contained and was E.N.D.'s mind and power withered into nothing as one of the aspects needed for his survival had died. And the rest soon joined him in the world of the dead that I have been desperately wishing to join." Zeref said his voice calm, shaking his head from side to side. Mard Geer did note that the tome that contained the soul of Lord E.N.D. was not in Lord Zeref's arms. Zeref then stopped shaking his head from side to side, the immensely powerful dark mage (though that title was forced onto him by Ankhseram's curse) now smiling at Mard Geer. It wasn't insane nor goofy, it looked calm and almost welcoming. The Underworld King knew that his creature wasn't faking the smile, the Black Wizard was surrounded by a cloak of death that made the grass around him turn black before shrivelling up and dying. "However I had came to know that you had changed Mard Geer. Love was accepted into your heart."

Mard Geer felt a cold wave run up him, almost making him shiver. The Underworld King's body glowed a translucent light as he transformed into his true form, the shadow of his hulking true form almost touching the circle of dead grass beneath Zeref. Zeref had created Mard Geer for the purpose of killing him, and while the demon may not be strong enough to do it, he won't hesitate to thrash Zeref if he did anything that would disrespect his recently deceased mate.

"You fell in love with a human, she was your mate as a demon, something that not even I knew was possible. Especially considering that you personally vanquished your own emotions for your ambition." Zeref said calmly, not at all intimidated by Mard Geer's hulking form. This wasn't much of a surprise; he did create Mard Geer and design the demon's true form, and he could turn Mard Geer back into a book by a thought alone. "You had fallen in love with someone who was mortal, and you were an immortal who couldn't make your love become an immortal yourself. Though it would be for the better, I'm certain that you're now aware of how much of a curse that immortality is. As a member of demons that used your curses to your advantages, you should have realised that the immortality that you also used to live for over an entire century was another curse that you were using for your goals."

"Mard Geer doesn't understand why you have came to him." Mard Geer said.

"Because you too have realised the worst pain that can shine on this world; having the one you have loved die and be unable to join them in the afterlife because you're cursed to be an immortal." Zeref explained looking sad as he looked down at the damp ground, a vacant look in his eyes as he must have been thinking of a lover that he had that died. Mard Geer was unaware that Lord Zeref had a lover, however it seems as though they have died, their demise leaving a painful scar on his heart. Proverbially speaking. Zeref looked back up at Mard Geer, a smile of acceptance on the immortal's face. "It is with that unbearable pain that you have accepted a new power in your heart, a new strength. You grow stronger with the negative emotions that you feel, that is the principle of Curses. And what you have felt has left you strong enough to perfectly cast your own creation in this opposite field of magic; your Ultimate Curse, Memento Mori."

Mard Geer's eyes widened, the demon looking at his claw. During his many decades with Lucy, Mard Geer found no use or need for his Memento Mori, the Underworld King needing to rely on only his Thorn Curse and his mate. Mard Geer flexed the claw that he held out in front of his eyes, a dark energy with a paralyzing effect emitting from the palm. Mard Geer felt a happiness grow within himself; he could still use Memento Mori, he can still remove the concepts of life and death from Lord Zeref and erase him, to let him become non-existent and have his suffering end.

"Mard Geer... can free you of your suffering, Lord Zeref." Mard Geer said as he held his claw out in front of Zeref, tiny ghost-like entities came out of the energy gathered in Mard Geer's palm, wailing as they crawled off and fell down before disappearing. Zeref looked pleased at Mard Geer, he even looked like he was euphoric, no doubt he was excited as he had been waiting for this for many centuries. "Mard Geer's Memento Mori... the Ultimate Curse created by the demon that rules the underworld itself... can free you of life and death."

"I have no will to fight becoming non-existent." Zeref said calmly, continuing to stand in front of Mard Geer, the dark energies of death that surrounded him fading and receding back into his immortal body. "Give me what I want."

Mard Geer looked behind himself, looking at the grave that marked his dear Lucy Heartfilia. The blonde flashed in his mind, young and old, smiling at him. Mard Geer then looked back at Zeref and his palm of endless moaning wraiths. Mard Geer knew that when he erases Lord Zeref from existence by removing him of all concepts of life and death, he would die. Though, for the first time ever, Mard Geer wondered what his afterlife would be if he died. He wasn't certain if he would even have an afterlife. Though if he did have an afterlife, there's a high chance he will find himself burning in endless agony in Inferno. There was a certain line of irredeemable evil that must never be crossed, and Mard Geer had crossed it a long time. This line was an event horizon, and now Mard Geer had walked so far from this line that it would never be seen again. If there was a chance of Mard Geer having an afterlife, he was almost certain that he would be burning. But the pain may not be as bad as the sensation he is experiencing now.

"May the memory of death be the last thing you know as you become purely non-existent." Mard Geer said as he held his palm high, the wraiths fluctuating as the demon prepared to send them to Zeref. "Memento Mori."

The dark wraiths flew towards Zeref alongside a dark mist, paralyzing the wizard, not that he would it anyways. The dark mist envelop Zeref and the dark wraiths reached upwards at the sky and towards the heavens, turning into a giant, green pillar that erased the concepts of life and death of anything that would dare enter it. And in this pillar was a black-haired mage, one who tried to bring back a loved one and was thus cursed by an angry god, one who would cause everything around him to die, one who created countless demons that ravaged the world because he hoped one would end the misery that now defined his existence. His body was disappearing in flakes, starting with the skin, then the flesh, then the rest such as his blood and organs followed as he disintegrated into nothingness. It didn't hurt, he wasn't having his body truly being disintegrated, it was just him becoming fully rejected from the worlds of life and the worlds of death, entering the realm of nonexistence.

Lord Zeref was no longer there as the pillar vanished, leaving a vast crater that plunged deep into the ground, a pit of darkness waiting at the crater's bottom. Mard Geer collapsed onto his back, the ground making a small shake from the vibrations caused by the weight of his true form. Mard Geer's arms were outstretched like he was on a cross as he laid on the ground, the Underworld King not transforming back into his human form; he was going to end and he would do it as the demon that he truly is.

Like Zeref, Mard Geer's skin was starting to fly off in flakes, and the rest of his body would soon follow. Zeref was no longer a member of the living, he has now met his end in nonexistence, neither living or dead. If there were any other Etherious in the world that still lived, they too would die. Without their creator alive, they would lose all power and energy before dying and turning into nothing more but ash. Mard Geer looked up at the thundering sky, his hands and feet no longer existing as they were already turned to flakes. Mard Geer's arms and legs were becoming shorter and shorter as it continued to disappear like tiny bugs were eating at his body, flakes of skin and his magical being flying off of his muscular chest.

A bright light seeped through the clouds in the sky, a large spotlight of heavenly light shining down on the Underworld King. Mard Geer could see that beyond the light shining down on him the thundering clouds remained and the rain poured with relentless might. Mard Geer was barely even a head anymore, he would cease to exist within twenty seconds.

A light brighter than even the tremendously great light shining down on Mard Geer appeared in front of what remains of his fading face, the light taking a humanoid form. Angelic wings of light grew on the humanoid's back as it knelt down in front of him, the same humanoid taking the form of a female as a white cloak appeared and surrounded it as the humanoid transformed into an Angel.

Not much of Mard Geer remained from this point, only one eye and a mouth. And yet both were functional. Through his one remaining eye, Mard Geer saw the Angel as a beautiful being with blonde hair like golden threads and brown eyes that were hypnotizing to look at. The same angel, Lucy, picked up what would soon join the rest of his being as she smiled down at him with boundless love.

Mard Geer felt happy. Nevertheless of what would happen to him in his afterlife, at least he was graced by an Angel before death; an Angel that was the most beautiful being of them all.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Here's a fanfic of Mard Geer and Lucy. I originally had not much outside of Mard Geer and Lucy falling in love, Mard Geer mourning Lucy's death and then using Memento Mori to erase Zeref. I also originally planned to have this all written through Mard Geer's perspective, dunno if I still went with that or not.**

 **Whatever, hoped you enjoyed this long MardLu fic with some angst at the end.**


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